>> good afternoon and bell come to our rules committee for thursday, september 20th. my name is jane kim and i will be chairing today's meeting. i am joined by supervisor campos and supervisor elsbernd who is in place of supervisor farrell, our vice-chair who just had a newborn son earlier this week. our clerk today is not melissa miller, i'm sorry. our clerk today is derek evans and the committee would like to acknowledge the staff of sfgtv who record the meetings and make the transcript available online. and i would like to acknowledge

jennifer lowe and [speaker not understood]. mr. clerk, are there any announcements? >> yes, madam chair. please make sure cell phones and electronic devices, speaker cards and documents submitted as part of the file be submitted to the clerk. [speaker not understood] unless otherwise stated. >> thank you. can you please call item number 1? >> item number 1, motion supporting eric mar to the california state association county board of directors. >> thank you. colleagues, are there any discussion on this item? seeing none, i would like to open it up for public comment. if you would like to speak on item number 1, please step forward. seeing no public comment, public comment is closed. colleagues, do you have a motion on this item? >> make a motion to move forward the recommendation. >> motion to move forward with recommendation to the full board. can we do that without opposition? and we can. mr. clerk, can you please call item number 2? >> item number 2, hearing to

consider the appointing three members, terms ending april 30th, 2014 to the commission of animal control welfare. >> thank you. and i believe that most of the applicants are here today. so, i will be calling your name in the order that you are listed on the agenda. because of the number of the applicants that we have before us, i am going to limit your time to two minutes. but if any of my colleagues have follow-up questions, we will certainly ask them. so, i want to first call up amanda newkirk, and then annmarie fortier. are either of those'ly kansas here today? if you are not here, i will call the next -- okay. * applicants. thank you. and the form of the rules committee, if you could speak a little bit about your background as it relates to the seat that you are applying for. and if you could go over briefly some of the priorities or projects that you'd like to pursue as a member of the

commission of animal control and welfare. thank you. thank you for being here. thank you. my name is annmarie. i've been a resident of san francisco since 1995 in district 2. i am a mother to two preschoolers in addition to the proud guardian of two dogs. i have been a dog owner in san francisco about since i arrived here in 1995. it is thanks to my dogs that i come to know and love this city and its park and come to know my neighbors in my neighborhood all the better. i have experienced in many volunteer positions, including volunteering with the san francisco public schools and also with the humane society. i trained one dog colley to be a pet therapy dog and we went to a nursing home regularly and spread canine joy. i am interested in this position because i would like to be a voice for my neighbors,

my community for our pets, and also for the wildlife that also come to appreciate more and more thanks to our dogs and spending time in the park. the birds and coyotes and other animals as far as issues that concern me specifically, i don't know what positions have been or things have been before you recently. there is certainly a balance between the want and desires of dog owners, all pet owners and mainly families with young children. i think that our city is big enough and beautiful enough to allow everyone the space and freedom to enjoy it as i do with my family. so, again, thank you for your consideration and for your time. >> thank you. i'm seeing no questions from my colleagues. we appreciate your presentation. thank you. >> i apologize, i do not see a list of who had confirmed and

so i see that corey evans also will not be here today. next, can we call james yorck? okay. before i start, i would like to thank ms. rebecca katz of the acc for her open mindedness for suggestion and ideas and willingness to tackle projects in new and creative ways. my name is jamie yorck and i want to thank you for considering me for the animal welfare commission. last year i presented to the rules commission a petition with over 300 signatures that both condemn the one sidedness of the animal welfare control submission and also supported my appointment. for 35 years i've worked in san francisco, from 1978 to end of 2000 i owned a small exotic bird store. i think my experience uniquely

qualifies me with a different perspective than others in this room. instead of singing my praises, i want an opportunity to inform you. i began attending the commission meetings several years ago. when the animal welfare commission was considering the ban on the sale of pets. a few months later the commission was seriously deliberating upon another ban, the banning of the blue grass festival from golden gate park because it interfered with the feeding habits of the ferrel cats. this was more fun than the cooking channel and i've been hooked. i have been continuously attending every one of their meetings. we live in the city named after st. francis with the ensuing myth of great kindness and love of all animals. unfortunately in their zeal for a greater good, many of our home grown franciscan pet

activists feel entitled to disregard some of the biblical teachings, especially the one about you shall not bear false witness. last year four of the commissioners stood before this very rules committee. they presented the supervisors with a fact sheet. the fact sheet stated four pet stores in the city that sell dogs. this fact was an intentional lie. last spring sfpca wrote an article in the chronicle about a phone survey they conducted on how san franciscans acquire dog. unfortunately under the category of -- >> i'm going to have to ask you to wrap up. i'm sorry. you can finish your sentence and your thought. i'm asking you to wrap up because your time was up. nobody told me two minutes. okay. well, you did, but unfortunately under the category of pet acquisition from pet stores, the statistics

were so ludicrously insighted that one is left to question the integrity of the whole survey. too bad. are there any questions? >> we don't have any questions at the time, but you're more than welcome to submit your statement to the committee if you'd like to share it. we're happy to read the rest of it. thank you. [speaker not understood]. we'll ignore the typos. is julia frink here? we have julia frink and then zachary marks. thank you. my name is julia frink. i have been a resident of san francisco since 1994. i run a dog care service, here since 1999. and i'm very interested in this position because i would like my voice and the voice of my customers and people who i'm involved in and their dogs involved in my life to have a

voice somewhere within the community, the dog community. i'm very passionate about taking care of dogs and animals, and there's been a lot of legislations that have passed recently or the big dog legislation. and i felt my voice was unheard. i could not get a response from my supervisor because my business is larger than many businesses. i'd like to be a voice for that, for larger services. many of the dog -- >> can you be specific about which dog legislation? the one that's going into effect in january 2013. >> are you talking about the dog walkers? yes, the dog walkers. i am a professional dog walker, dog care, i do other things, pet sitting, boarding as well. and i just felt that i had no place to have my voice heard. the local dog organizations ban businesses that have other people working for them to join

the organization. so, sf dog pro dog, echo dog, i haven't been able to be a member of. i'm active in marin where i don't live. and i really would like to have a voice within the dog community. i studied economics. i've taken many dog behavior classes with the spca with the humane society, and i've worked one on one with many dog trainers here locally. i've also taken courses with dog tech and company called pet tech. i'm very interested in dog care and in the dog community. i hope to be present for this position. >> thank you. okay, thank you. >> we next have zachary marks and then susanna russo. hello, supervisors. thank you for having me here today for this appointment hearing. let me introduce myself real

quickly. my name is zach marks, i'm aes are department of san francisco. i used to work in washington, d.c. for senator ted kennedy and i recently got my masters at the university of san francisco in politics and public affairs, interned here for the mayor's office for the legislative director jason elliott and right now i'm working downstairs for the department of elections in a temporary position. i'm also serving on the pedestrian safety committee which i came before you guys and spoke. and used to serve as the west coast director for the environmental health trust and now as the director of the california brain tumor association. i definitely have a strong interest in animal matters. i have always had a dog my entire life, a golden retriever and i have him as a service animal through the san francisco spca. and he does go ahead and visit people in hospitals on brain tumor patients. so, that's something that i have enjoyed throughout my life. my plan, if i was to be appointed to this commission, is to focus on outreach

definitely. i looked earlier today and there's no facebook page or anything like that. so, i think that i could be helpful in that regard. today also is animal role day and i've been asking, no one knows anything about it. so, i think that there could be some outreach in that respect as well. and i promise to be actively engaged and a responsible member of the commission if appointed. >> thank you. seeing no further questions. thank you. >> we have susanna russo and then shari o'neill. good afternoon, supervisors. i appreciate the opportunity to address you. my name is susanna russo. i currently have i believe it's seat number 2 on the commission of animal control and welfare.

i would like to make one change for the record. i am not applying for seat number 7. despite the fact that i'm a veterinarian, i am retired and i don't practice in san francisco. so, i think that was an error perhaps made by the clerk, but i'm only applying or hoping for seat 1 or 2. in terms of my background, i have been a lifelong animal welfare advocate, certainly since the age of 7 when i started advocating for a donkey and a burrough that lived next to me in rhode island. i was instrumental in shepherding the ban on de-clawing of cats several years ago in the city. last night i found myself shepherding racoons and cats

not only out of my yard but out of my house first. i consider that the quintessential san francisco animal experience. so, in terms of experience, i've spent the last two years navigating a large and steep learning curve sunshine law, the health codes, learning to build coalitions, getting to know supervisors. and i would ask you to reappoint me so that i can continue my work on behalf of all san francisco's animals. thank you. >> thank you. susanna, i did have a quick question. first of all, thank you for your service on the commission already. could you speak to one issue or a legislation that you took particular interest in over your term as a commissioner? something that you worked on that you prioritized during your term. okay. yes, i think the first thing

that comes to mind is the fate of the ferrel cat kohl i inin the west end of golden gate park. and i was asked by community leaders to come out and look at the site. and we talked with rec and park about maintaining good habitat for this established colony. so, i think in general ferrel cats and wildlife and the indoor action between them, but that's an issue that i was involved with with the community. >> thank you. um-hm. >> so, last but not least we have shari o'neill. good afternoon. i am dr. shari o'neill and i've been a practicing veterinarian for the last 13 years, the last 10 of which have been here in

san francisco. i am a resident in the sunset district where i also work at [speaker not understood] hospital. in addition to my doctor veterinary of medicine i hold an additional degree as a masters of public health and also board certified in preventive medicine. i have a particular interest in public health and how humans and animals can coexist hopefully. i have a particular interest in disaster preparedness and i am the san francisco representative on disaster preparedness coalition for animals. i try to work with a number of groups in the city, including spca, acc, pets unlimited, sos and paws. so, i think i have a lot of experience to bring just working with those groups in general. i recently was appointed to the disaster preparedness committee for the state with the cdma as

well. any questions on my qualifications at all? >> no questions from the board. thank you so much. thank you. >> thank you for your service already on working on our disaster preparedness plan for animals. we have no further applicants. so, at this time we will open up for public comment. i do have one speaker card, glendon high. if there are any other speakers, please do line up. commissioner, good to see you. good to see you, hello, how are you doing? i'm here to speak on behalf of the very passionate jamie yorck. i think it is apparent he knows a whole lot about what is going on. he spends a lot of time there at the committee making sure he's up on what's happening before he came to apply here. and i just want to talk about his ability for education and outreach, which i have personally benefited from and san francisco has benefited

from. he's an amazing advocate. he not only takes individual animal welfare, but the general welfare of san francisco's pets as well as animal related issues to heart. and i hope that you can forward him with recommendation. and i just wanted to say it's the 16th anniversary of moving to san francisco and i couldn't think of a better person to be here representing. >> is there any public comment on this item? seeing none, public comment is closed. colleagues, any thoughts or further questions? do you want to clarify we do have one applicant for seat 7 now that ms. russo has asked only to be considered for seats 1 and 2. and we have now heard six of the eight applicants, two who were unable to be here. generally on the rules committee does not consider

applicants who are unable to make it unless they are able to speak to members before hand. but, again, i think as always, we are open to considerations. i'm sorry, supervisor campos. >> thank you. first of all, thank you to all the applicants for submitting their applications and for their interest in serving the city. that's also greatly appreciated. and it's always hard to choose where you have more applicants than you have seats. so, why don't i make a motion with respect to the two seats where i think it's pretty clear in my view what we should do, and that would be with respect to seat 7 where we have only one applicant, and that's dr. o'neill who i think made a very strong presentation and i think has the kind of background that you need. i think she will do a good job. and then also for seat number 2, the reappointment of susanna russo who is currently on the

body. my feeling is that as a general rule, you want some continuity and if someone's done a good job, i think it makes sense to continue with that individual. so, i would make the motion -- my suggestion would be i guess maybe we can talk about the other seat, but with respects to seat 7 and 2, that's what i would suggest. >> thank you. so, we do have a motion to move forward susanna russo for seat 2 and dr. shari o'neill for seat 7 and leaving open discussion on, again, for seat 1. and i'm more than happy to support those two applicants as well. ms. russo, i do appreciate the time you spent on this commission and i think it's also important to have some continuation of folks that have been working on this issue and clearly know a lot about the welfare of animals here in our city. and dr. o'neill was very

impressed with you, your application, and many letters of recommendation that came on your expertise on this issue. and realizing the importance of having a veterinarian on this commission, i'm happy to support those two motions. for seat 1, i do think we have a number of qualified applicants for the seat. i do -- was interested in actually ms. fortier because as she does spend some time on -- volunteering for the sfpca and appreciate that previous commitment. as we consider candidates, always look to see kind of the previous background and also the volunteer hours that they may already be contributing to the issues that they are -- that they would like to represent to the city and county. i'll put forward that name, but again, very open to hearing other thoughts from colleagues. >> i really like mr. yorck. one of the few applicants who i remember well from 2011 when i sat on this committee.

he gave, i thought, a very impassioned presentation last year and i remembered it. and i felt bad that we couldn't find a spot for him last year. and i like the breadth of experience that he has. so, i have some concern -- i'll let you guys finish. i have some concern that the animal welfare commission is becoming the dog commission. it's the animal commission. there are a lot of animals in san francisco, and mr. yorck has a pretty unique level of experience when it comes to birds. they are animals. we have bird issues in san francisco and i think he could bring some knowledge to the commission. and certainly his passion about the work, you've heard the testimony about all that he's done over the last year, two years, observing all that the commission has done. i think he'd be a good appointment and i see it is a bit of a mistake we made last year and i'd like to give it a shot to clean it up this year. >> supervisor elsbernd. supervisor campos?

>> thank you. and again, i was impressed with mr. yorck as well. i think he has pretty impressive background. i do want to ask a question and i don't know if it's appropriate for me to ask this question, but -- i have no way of verifying this information. i don't even know that the information is accurate. but i do think that it is something i need to ask for purposes of vetting the applicant. mr. yorck, i don't know where this information came from exactly, but there was some information given to my office that at some point you had been investigated for animal cruelty and i'm wondering if you can speak to that. where did you hear this? >> this is information that was given to us. i just want to make sure that i -- never, ever, ever heard of it. i mean, i used to have a bird

store. like every pet store, you get complaints. but animal cruelty, i don't think so. >> have you been cited at all by the city and county for any issues with the store that you owned? i don't think so. maybe they told me to -- if i had too many finches in a cage, i said i'll move the finches. the regular thing a store has. you also get people who like to call, you know. >> mr. yorck, you're not instilling a hell of a lot of confidence in the guy that just put your name forward. i'm sorry. i never -- >> if you want to be -- if you were an animal store owner, you would be able to tell us exactly how many times you received a citation. i don't think i